Bal.

This is coolbert:

Hitler is alive and well - - and living in India!!

Well, figuratively so, not literally, of course.

From today's Chicago Tribune article: [by Kim Barker]

"Hitler the trendy tyrant".

"When an Adolf Hitler-themed restaurant opened its doors in a suburb of cosmopolitan Mumbai [Bombay], many were horrified . . . it is hardly the only example of how some Indians view Hitler and his legacy."

"Hindu fundamentalist groups praise Hitler's leadership skills."

"A college poll a few years ago showed he was perceived as an ideal leader."

["it isn't so much the reality that counts, it is the perception of reality that counts!!" - - Jesse Jackson.]

"Books and videos him are top sellers."

"its' not clear why Hitler is popular in some circles."

"Some experts say it's because of a belief that Indians were the original Aryan race.

[well, at least those of the kshatriya caste [warriors and rulers] have what is called an Indo-European [Aryan] background in them. This was recently found by DNA sampling and testing. ONLY found in the men and not the women. Seems to imply an invader army of men without women entered into India around 1500 B.C.]

"Hitler used the traditional Hindu good luck symbol of the swastika."

[this symbol is a good luck symbol for the Hindu and the Buddhist both. Used extensively in their architecture as a decorative motif.]

"Those who believe strongly in the caste system of India also may like Hitler's eugenics and race beliefs."

[the lighter the skin color in the Indian caste system, the BETTER you are!! This too may be a lasting consequence of the kshatriya [Indo-European] invasion of 1500 B.C.]

"Any praise for Hitler is not reflected in national Policy."

[this may not be entirely true. It is a fact that in 1982, when the Israeli Army invaded Lebanon, among the 4,000 foreign terrorists they captured were active duty serving officers in the Indian Army. Probably getting some hands-on experience against the Israeli.]

"Interviews with many young Indians indicated that they had little idea of what Hitler actually did."

"A poll of 400 students from the country's most prestigious colleges . . . found that Hitler was their third most requested ideal leader."

"In Gujarat, textbooks have praised Hitler's leadership abilities, fascism and the Nazi movement."

"Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist party based in Mumbai, has openly praised Hitler and said he was willing to wipe out troublemaking Muslims."

[Shiv Sena (Devanāgarī: शिव सेना Śīv Senā, meaning Army of Shiva, referring to Shivaji). See my blog entry on Shivaji. The Shiv Sena use Shivaji as a role model.]

"Thackeray likes 'the way Hitler pushed the things in this time.'"

"I am a great admirer of Hitler, and I am not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organizer and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common...What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand."

[if Bal had his way, he would like to emulate Hitler. Kill ALL those DAMNED Muslims!!]

[with a last name of Thackeray, I wonder if he has British ancestry?? English father and Hindu mother??]




So why, in my opinion, is there this apparent love affair with Hitler in India??

During World War Two [WW2], there was a strong connection between the German Nazi regime and the Hindu nationalist Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose, prior to the outbreak of the war, agitated for a violent confrontation with England. So as to gain, by force, independence for the British colony. Bose was the negative mirror image of Ghandi! Bose had to flee India and became a world-traveler. During WW2 he was ABLE to recruit soldiers of the British Indian Army [jawans] to fight against the allies. These men were POW's of the Germans and Japanese and became willing combatants for Bose and his cause. At the very end of the war in the Pacific theatre, Bose was killed when the plane he was on, bound for Japan from Singapore, crashed.

I also think that current Hindu nationalists in particular DO LIKE the concepts and methodology as was used by the Nazi regime.

DECISIVE AND TOTAL ELIMINATION OF OPPOSITION! WITHOUT QUALMS OR HESITATION! IN THIS CASE, THE MUSLIM IS THE TARGET.

Hindus have a very big historical score to settle with the Muslim. For a period of centuries, the Hindu suffered just terribly at the hands of the Muslim invader and ruler. Hindu India had a great civilization that was DESTROYED at the hands of the Muslim. A civilization that was one of the wonders of the world. AT THE HANDS OF THE MUSLIM, THE HINDU PERHAPS SUFFERED THE GREATEST GENOCIDE OF ALL TIME!!! For this, the Hindu wants revenge.

"The entire civilization of Hindus called as Saraswati Civilization was decapitated and reduced to dust. The depth and the scope of holocaust which befell Hindus is so staggering that common human mind fails to understand this and goes blank."

India [and the Hindu nationalist most of all] feels it is within reach of becoming the GREAT world power of the 21st century. Regaining a role that it had for thousands of years. A role that is the DESTINY of India.

"Thackeray likes 'the way Hitler pushed the things in this time.'"

We in the west like to think of the Hindu and the Indian national in general as being Ghandi-like. Non-violent, passive, submissive.

Guess again!! If Bal has his way, things and images are going to change!!

coolbert.